Effort aimed at safe encounters

Chicago police and a local gay and lesbian health center are teaming up this month to encourage people out in Boystown to be safe if they bring someone home from a bar.

Volunteers will hit the bar area of North Halsted Street on Saturday and pass out postcards reminding people that the person they're flirting with may be cute, but he or she could be trouble, too, said Darryl Nash, director of communications for the Howard Brown Health Center.

The cards urge people to "be sexy, but be smart too."

The initiative, called Operation Play Safe, was started after staff at the Howard Brown Health Center noticed an increase during the last eight months in reports of muggings, wallets cleaned out by one-night stands and other violence, Nash said.

The March murder of Kevin Clewer also made the campaign necessary, he said.

Clewer was stabbed to death in his North Elaine Place apartment, and police are looking for a suspect they believe Clewer brought home from a bar the night he was killed.

But police say most of the smaller crimes Howard Brown is hearing about aren't being reported to them.

"We want them to know they can come to us," said Officer Jose Rios, the GLBT liaison to the 23rd District. "They're not going to get ridiculed, they're not going to be told, 'That didn't happen.' "

The cards don't tell people not to bring one-night stands home, because that would be unrealistic, Nash said.

Instead, there are tips on how to get to know a person better, such as asking a lot of questions and making sure phone numbers are real.

The cards also suggest telling the person they're cute and snapping a picture with a camera phone, so that if something happens he can be identified.

"We're just hoping people will be a little more cautious of what they're doing and who they're doing it with," Nash said.